


The Pretty Lies And The Ugly Truth

by 11037BagsOfMilk



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, And I mean very slow, Gen, Personality Swap, Pre-Game Saihara Shuichi, Slow To Update, Spoilers for the whole game pretty much, no betas we die like men
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-17
Updated: 2021-01-18
Packaged: 2021-03-05 18:54:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 9,209
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25950202
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/11037BagsOfMilk/pseuds/11037BagsOfMilk
Summary: Shuichi wakes up in a daze wondering what the hell happened after monokuma announces him and 15 other students' acceptance into the 53rd season of Danganronpa(basically an AU where Shuichi reverts to his pre-game personality after Gonta hits him on the head in chapter 2. I'll also be updating the tags as we go along the story so yeah)
Comments: 31
Kudos: 195





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Don't expect regular updates. At all. I was _supposed_ to have an upload schedule for this but online school decided to break down my door and hold me hostage so ://

Cold…

...was the first thing he felt. His memories were scattered and he struggled to recall what happened.

He remembered walking home from school when he was unceremoniously shoved into a van then knocked out. Not long after, he woke up in a locker and when he broke out, met a blonde haired girl in the typical dark blue sailor uniform.

Kaede, her name was? Anyways, the moment they walked out, a really huge monster-robot thing began chasing them and-

Now he felt warm. Not just that, but it felt like a weight was put on top of him. Hesitantly, he slowly fluttered his eyes open, finding the partly obstructed lights still blinding.

The one obstructing the lights, however, immediately caught his sight as he occupied most of his view.

He had messy ultramarine hair and big lilac colored eyes and displayed a childish, carefree smile before chirping in a teasing, sing-songy tone, 

"Mooorning, sleepyhead!"

...who is he?

.

.

.

"You're finally awake, Shuichi." The boy spoke which further confused him. "What…?" He mumbled which made the back of his head ache, and the purple haired boy resumed, "You're probably thinking _'Who am I? Where am I?'_ Well, you're definitely Shuichi Saihara. And this is… hm…" He glanced off to the side seemingly in thought while Shuichi kept his eyes trained on him. How did he know who he is?

He eventually stared right back at Shuichi, "Hell, I guess." That single statement immediately sent Shuichi into panic mode as he snapped his eyes wide open and tried to sit up, accidentally bumping the other boy's head with his in the process. They both hissed in pain. Great. Now his head hurts in two different places.

The other boy was rubbing his forehead, "Hey, what's the deal, Shuichi?" He whined. Shuichi would have begun to apologize profusely if only there wasn't this nagging curiosity in him, "I'm sorry but… do you know me?" He tried to ask as politely as he could, but then he noticed someone else in the room.

Shuichi frantically whipped his head around, "Wait… who are all of you?" He asked in a now more apprehensive tone, finally fixing his stare on a blue haired girl with glasses. But he quickly averted his gaze to the purple haired boy once he heard some not so quiet snickering, "That's a really funny joke you got there, Shuichi! I genuinely can't tell if you're lying or not!"

This further fueled Shuichi's puzzlement, "...what…?" He muttered. He could see the people in the room exchanging glances with one another before one of them finally spoke out, "Shuichi, do you remember Kaede?" It was by a boy with white hair and looked… robotic?

That question though, "The blonde girl? Yeah. Where is she now?" Everyone excluding the boy in front of him glanced at each other again, looking more unseasy than last time.

Shuichi was about to ask why, but was interrupted by the sound of someone bursting through the door. He quickly turned his head around to see a tall buff looking guy with messy green hair and glasses carrying two bodies. _Wait, are they dead?_

Except before he could even speak, he was dragged out of the room by the shorter boy with strength he didn't expect. Once out of there, ignoring the confused look the other scary looking guy gave, the once playful expression the smaller boy displayed was quickly wiped off, "Shuichi, what's the last thing you remember?" He suddenly asked.

Shuichi was taken aback from the swift shift in personality, and shot back his own question, "Can you at least tell me who you are and why you know me and Kaede?" And the other boy sharply responded, "No, I'll tell _you_ what's going on if you tell _me_ what you know." Shuichi would have protested, but decided to oblige just so he could finally make sense of what in the actual hell is happening.

He sighed, "Fine. I broke out of a locker where I met Kaede and we were chased by this huge monster thing or whatever that's called when we left the classroom. Then we ran into what looked like a gymnasium where other people were hiding. And that was when these bears came out of those machines and monokuma showed up not long after and…" He trailed off. He could have stopped there if the memory never resurfaced, "Danganronpa! Monokuma told us we got accepted into Danganronpa!"

The name echoed through the halls as Shuichi almost yelled the word he was so familiar with. 'Holy shit I'm in Danganronpa!' He thought to himself. The other boy looked dead serious, taking in all of the information and Shuichi would have started to ramble about the show if the door didn't creak open and the same green haired scary guy came looming over the shorter boy's shoulder.

Shuichi squeaked in fear causing the smaller boy to turn around, his demeanor doing the exact same thing, "Gonta! Just the gentleman I was looking for!" He smiled seemingly with glee, whereas the other boy only looked… concerned? "Kokichi, is Shuichi alright?" He asked.

Kokichi. So that's his name. "Yuppers! Better than last time, even!" Kokichi said, "Say, Gonta, would you mind excusing Shuichi from the insect meet and greet?" Oh, right. So the other boy's name is Gonta.

Wait, the _what?!_

"Uhh… didn't Kokichi say Shuichi not like bugs?" _He said what now?!_ "Well...Shuichi here was just telling me how much he _loved_ bugs, weren't you, Shuichi?" Kokichi nudged him, and all he could do was nod anxiously. "Oh. That fine then." He answered, looking quite satisfied, and went back in the room. Shuichi sighed in relief.

Kokichi now turned around, grabbing Shuichi by the wrist and led him out of the building. He could only ask again, "Wait! Where are we going?" As he ignored the screams that erupted from the other room.

And the shorter boy only answered back, "To my room, duh!"

"H-huh?!" Shuichi quickly became wary, was Kokichi planning to kill him there? He thought of ways to escape which kept him distracted enough to not notice that they were already in front of someone's door. He was then yanked into the room before Kokichi headed back to the entrance, "Do me a favour and don't leave, okay? There's some candy on my table so you better not eat those!" And with that, he shut the door and left, leaving Shuichi alone with only his thoughts.

Silence was there too sans the constant ticking of the wall clock and Shuichi awkwardly sat at the edge of the bed to process things. The purple haired boy who dragged him in here, the "insect meet and greet" as he called it, the other people who seemed to be associated with Kaede, this room that's one candy wrapper away from messy and… monokuma's announcement. Was he really in Danganronpa now? Is he going to get killed here? Shuichi ran a hand through his hair, taking note of the absence of his hat. Where was it, anyway?

His mind rambled on and on for what felt like an eternity when the door swung open once again, revealing Kokichi trying to carry a large stack of what seemed like colorful tablets, "Oh good. You're still here. I actually thought you would run out and kill someone!" He kicked the door closed as his hands were full, then dropped the tablets into the bed, making them bounce and some of them collide with each other.

All of a sudden, Shuichi asked nonchalantly, "Are you going to kill me now?"

Kokichi seemed to have read the mood early on, "Nishishi! Of course!" And the reaction was much different from what he had anticipated. It wasn't fear nor paranoia, but disappointment, "Why the long face, Shuichi? Do you want to kill someone instead?"

Shuichi pouted a bit, "Well… yeah. I would have loved to get an execution, but if you're going to kill me, can it be an unsolvable murder? If I can't get a brutal execution, then the second best thing I can get is a brutal death!" his eyes then glimmered with excitement. Kokichi chuckled, successfully masking his discomfort, "Sure! But we need to make some things clear before we can get ahead of ourselves with elaborate murder plans." He took the desk chair away from the desk and positioned it directly across Shuichi.

"Now," Kokichi sat down, making direct eye contact with the taller boy, crossed his legs and rested his intertwined hands on his lap,

"Kaede is dead."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so uhhh we're gonna be sticking kinda close to canon for a bit but I promise things will get funky around chapter 5 or something idk. 
> 
> Thanks for reading and have a nice day y'all!


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wowza! A new chapter! Was it worth it? Who knows.

His plan of catching Shuichi off guard was successful as the other boy was stunned into silence. _Perfect_. Now all Kokichi needed to do was to pry as much information as he can out of the supposed detective.

"W-what do you mean?"

Kokichi took that window of opportunity to enact his plan, "Nuh-uh-uh! First you have to prove to me that you know about Danganronpa." This seemed to tick Shuichi off and Kokichi fully understood why. He's been confused this whole time and nobody was giving him a simple, straight answer. Lucky for him, Kokichi was willing to do just that. With some conditions, of course, "And if you're correct, then I'll happily give you context about Kaede. Plus a couple more things!" He added.

Shuichi stared at the ceiling, poking his chin in thought, then answered after a moment, "For starters, Danganronpa used to be a game where people die depending on who you talked to and you have to figure out who killed who to live. And then a few years later they adapted it into a TV show." It was a lie, a cleverly subtle one, but not entirely. Kokichi was able to identify which parts of it were a lie and which ones were the truth easily. And it doesn't take someone who knows Danganronpa to realize it, just someone who's good at lying. 

Kokichi gave a deadpan glare and his voice suddenly became more stern, "You disappoint me, Shuichi. And here I thought I found someone else who also watches Danganronpa. Sad…" He almost gave a scowl but decided against it, pouting instead. Shuichi's response did shock him though. 

"Ahh. You caught me. I was trying to see if you were lying but it looks like you know your stuff." And that was when Shuichi provided his exegesis. The storyline, the mechanics, he even went as far as rambling about his favourite trial word for word (which took _hours_ ) and executions in very grotesque details. It was like studying for a test but instead of reading, he was watching a documentary made by an amateur that keeps forgetting how to breathe.

Shuichi blabbered on and on and on pinning down to the most miniscule of details. A normal person would have lost their mind, but not Kokichi. He didn't mind at all. In fact, he appreciated the extended ground to cover.

When Shuichi finished after what felt like centuries, it was now Kokichi's turn to be stunned into silence. Though, _stunned_ wasn't what his outward appearance said. It was more blank. So this was all a game being broadcasted to the world for everyones' sick entertainment? And they willingly participated? It was a laughable claim, but the existence of the flashback lights didn't make it sound so far-fetched anymore. Not to mention the fact that it made Rantaro's suspicious behaviour understandable, seeing as he had survived the last "season", he was bound to get an advantage. This also got him thinking: if Shuichi was like this, then what about the outside world? Were they just as crazed about the series as Shuichi was?

Kokichi decided to process the rest later and finally explained what was currently happening. He warily noted the bright sparkle in Shuichi's eyes when he mentioned Kaede's execution, and he couldn't help but just think of how fucked up this whole situation was.

But more importantly, how absolutely paranoid the mastermind must be right now.

He inwardly smirked, thinking about the state of panic they must be in. 

"So I was right when I thought Kaede was most likely to kill someone. Actually, scratch that. Everyone wanted to kill someone before the flashback light changed everyones' memories. Except you and me, I guess…" Kokichi nodded along. He had sold Shuichi a lie earlier about the flashback lights saying it glitched on both of them and how they were the only two (barring the mastermind), who were fully self aware. Well, that wasn't much of a lie now that Kokichi knows about the truth.

…

"Oh no no no no no no no no… there Shouldn't be any possibility of this happening..." 

Tsumugi repeated, nervously pacing back and forth at the length of her office while the screen beside her showcased Shuichi revealing everything about the killing game. All of the plot twists of the last few seasons, major and minor, spoiled in seconds. Seriously, what kind of monster willingly and happily accepts spoilers?!

She didn't know what to do. Should she waltz over his room while Shuichi is sleeping and show him the flashback light again, simultaneously erasing Kokichi's memories, or should she just leave it be as the audience has already seen it? Stuck in a difficult dilemma, Tsumugi opts to ask _them_ for their opinion.

Straightening up and clearing her throat, Tsumugi faces the machine at the center of her lair, "Motherkuma, contact the production team." She ordered. A screen was shown, displaying a static feed until someone finally answered.

"What is it?" The screen was still blank, and only the gruff voice of a male was there, but Tsumugi answered nonetheless, "Is Shuichi's personality change on purpose or is it part of the script?" 

There was silence on the other side for a while, and then finally answered, "Nᒷ∷リ𝙹ᓭꖌ. T⍑ᒷᓭ⍑╎ᓭꖌᓭᒷリℸ ̣ ⍑ ╎ᓭꖌリᒷ∷リᓵ∷ᒷᓭ⍑╎ᓭꖌ↸𝙹∷リᒷᓭꖌリᒷ∷リℸ ̣ ∷╎ꖎꖎ ╎ᓭꖌᓭᒷリℸ ̣ ⍑ ⎓𝙹∷リ⚍ᓭꖌꖎᒷℸ ̣ ⍑ꖎᒷℸ ̣ ⍑||╎∷ℸ ̣ ᓵ∷ᒷᓭ⍑𝙹ᓭꖌ╎ᓭꖌリᒷ∷リᓵ∷ᒷᓭ⍑╎ᓭꖌ↸𝙹∷リᒷᓭꖌリᒷ∷リℸ ̣ ∷╎ꖎᔑ⚍∷ᒷꖌꖎᒷℸ ̣ ⍑.. Please allow it to continue. Our audience seems to have taken a liking to this change." The call was abruptly dropped and the screen faded away. 

If that was the official decision then so be it.

…

"Hey, Shuichi?" Kaito knocked on the detective's door. The night time announcement had passed a long time ago and Shuichi was nowhere to be found. After getting tired of waiting, Kaito took it upon himself to check up on him.

This was weird. First, Shuichi wakes up like he had amnesia and Kokichi drags him out? Hopefully that little brat isn't planning to do anything rash, but considering the stunt he had just pulled earlier, it looked most likely to be the case.

Speaking of the insect meet and greet, they were definitely lucky that Tsumugi, of all people, managed to convince Gonta to be a 'gentleman' and let everyone go after a stupid lot of begging and repeating the exact words of "We love bugs!!" Like a bunch of lunatics in a certain pop concert.

Kaito shuddered, not because of the reminder of that one time involving said concert nor the horrific memory of bugs crawling on his skin, but because he felt like someone was watching him. Although nobody was there when he looked over his shoulder. It was just him. Soon enough he surrendered to the fatigue that was at last catching up to him and decided to give it a rest. He would ask Shuichi about what happened the next day.

Assuming that the detective was still alive, that is.

Kaito shook the thought away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't think this is gonna be a saiouma fic like my other works since I really wanna write stuff that doesn't revolve around or include much ships, y'know?
> 
> (Also, between you and me, I really don't think pre-game Shuichi and in-game Kokichi is a good ship
> 
> Also also: whoever decodes the thing i left there earlier gets a salute from me. I haven't thought about a prize yet but we'll see ;)


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AHAHHAHAHAHHAHAH EXAM WEEK IS FINALLY OVER I AM FREEEEEE
> 
> (I apologise in advance for any mistakes in grammar or spelling. It's like 2 am here lolololol sleep is for the weak)

The not so quiet creak of the gym doors swinging open almost killed the lively atmosphere of the room. All eyes were suddenly on the taller boy who was now wearing his hat again, making him flinch slightly, _'was I too harsh on the door or…?'_

Shuichi never had the chance to finish the thought as half the room flocked to him, "Hey, I heard that shota dragged you out the room yesterday. What the hell was that for? Don't tell me you were enjoying yourselves without me!" The girl named Miu roared.

"Gonta sorry for hitting you in the head yesterday!" The boy Shuichi previously feared sincerely apologised.

"Are you alright, Shuichi? Did Kokichi do... something?" The tall (almost creepy) guy named Korekiyo asked ominously.

Being bombarded with questions apparently wasn't fun at all. Shuichi defensively raised his hands up, "I-It's alright. I'm fine. Kokichi just… dumped a bucket of ice water on me for some reason." He lied in that supposed 'old Shuichi' tone or however Kokichi had called it and pulled the brim of his hat down. 

Honestly, from how Kokichi described it, the Ultimate Detective of this season is a wimp. He's definitely not the type to kill someone, and he'll happily take this advantage.

The group seemed uncomfortable, all until Miu spoke out, "Ahahaha! I see what you're getting at! Alright, I'll leave you fucked up kinky love birds alone then." She hugged herself and walked away, blushing and sweating a bit.

Everyone else either found it annoying or confusing, and Shuichi now understood why Kokichi labeled her a slut.

The small crowd disbanded and the atmosphere became lively again. Shuichi took an analytical glance around the room. Once again, the girl with blue hair caught his view. Apparently her name was Tsumugi and known as the Ultimate Cosplayer. She seemed to be having a pleasant chat with Korekiyo, all until Tsumugi seemed to catch Shuichi's gaze. He quickly averted his eyes and kept his face downcast until Kaito and Kirumi walked in.

Kaito practically sped to Shuichi at the sight of the other boy and more than less interrogated him, "Shuichi! You good? I saw Kokichi pull you out yesterday and you acted like you didn't know any of us and- wait, why are you wearing your hat again?" Some of the occupants in the room attempted to hide their faces as they either winced or cringed. Everyone, even the clueless ones like Gonta and Kiibo, seemed like they were trying to avoid pointing it out and Kaito just casually said it like it was nothing. He truly was an idiot as Kokichi had called it.

There were quiet murmurs around the room, but Shuichi opted to ignore it. "Yeah… it just doesn't feel right when I'm not wearing it. That's all. And Kokichi dumped ice water on my head to bring back my memories and… it kind of did the trick?" Kaito eased but his posture changed to look more confident almost immediately, "Alright, man. But you gotta compensate for that and double with training!" He exclaimed.

"...what?" Shuichi was quickly taken by surprise. He didn't remember Kokichi telling him anything about training or something like that. But now, he did find it odd that Kaito was knocking outside his room at late hours just when he was about to go to his designated room after Kokichi wrapped up their discussion.

But still…! "What do you mean by training?" Shuichi politely questioned and Kaito only stared back, dumbfounded, "So you still don't have all your memories back, huh? That's fine. You'll definitely remember soon!" He chuckled and patted Shuichi in the back.

"Right…" Shuichi muttered. No longer wanting to pursue the dying conversation, he decided to instead observe the scene before him. There was a stage and a bunch of setup on it, but the one thing that caught his attention was the small tank above the bigger one almost overflowing with piranhas. Shuichi stretched a hand to his mouth as he suppressed a grin. He knew exactly what's about to happen. 

Unfortunately, despite being an idiot, Kaito trailed Shuichi's sight and was able to observe something interesting, "Woah, that's a lot of piranhas there. I kinda feel bad at how cramped they are in there!" He commented rather loudly and Angie acted on it, steering away from her conversation with Himiko to glance at the tank, "Hmm… You're right. I don't recall there being this many piranhas last night. God must have gifted these piranhas with many children!"

Himiko, who had been violently shaking non-stop since earlier, seemed bewildered. "Nyeh… I remember those still swimming around freely yesterday…" She quietly uttered, shaking a bit less now. Kiibo, whose interest was piqued, glanced around the stage before noticing something quite peculiar, "Hey uhm… there is something behind the tank"

Everyone turned their attention above them and took a closer look at the tank, wary. It was like their hearts were about to jump out of their throats as they nervously got closer, and closer, and closer, and-

"Oh my god… is that Ryoma?!" Tsumugi's voice shrieked across the room.

_**Ding dong bing bong** _

"A body has been discovered!"

_Oh..._

_Hell yeah._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not particularly proud of this chapter ngl. Next chapter should be out soon(?)


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow that was not soon at all. Ueiidiqufiwodisiq9co7 remind me to never make promises lmao

Dread completely flooded the room as they stared at another corpse. Ryoma Hoshi, the Ultimate Tennis Pro, the one who had no will to live, was found "Swimming with the fishes" as they would say.

An outsider may look at the image of a dead body with fear, especially considering their current predicament, but to Shuichi, it was with absolute exhilaration. His eyes lit up so much in excitement like a child on christmas eve that it felt like stars were materializing out of his head. _'Finally! I knew this would happen sooner or later. But to think I'd actually participate in a class trial…!'_ The thought made him grin widely. Of course, no one could see it unless they were lying down on the floor looking up to his face.

The doors loudly swung open, and Kokichi more or less made a calm beeline to the supposed detective, whilst Maki simply stepped in trying to avoid attracting any unwanted attention. "Sooo… what did I miss? Oh my, is that poor little Ryoma? What a shame…" Kokichi smirked, half facing Shuichi. Kaito raised a brow, "Did something happen between you two yesterday?" He inquired. Shuichi and Kokichi shortly glanced at each other before the shorter boy broke eye contact, "Nope!" He grinned, raising both arms behind his back.

Monokuma and the kubs arrived shortly after, energetically handing everyone the second Monokuma file to which they all reluctantly took, except for Shuichi who shamelessly swiped the file and practically glued his eyes on the screen, "Hey! That ain't nice! Who the hell do you think you are?!" Monosuke exclaimed but was completely ignored, all while Kaito and Kokichi watched in amusement "Ugh… the youth of these days…" Monosuke grunted. "Let it go, Monosuke. He looks excited for the upcoming class trial after all! And we don't get to see that kind of enthusiasm much." Monophanie attempted to calm him. "Yeah… you're right. But youse better survive if you don't wanna make a fool outta yourselves!" He yelled before all the Monokubs disappeared in unison.

"Shuichi!" Kaito nudged the supposed detective, and he only gave a sound of acknowledgement, still keeping his eyes dead set on the file. Kaito thought that this just wouldn't do and kept pestering the other boy until he groaned and gave Kaito an annoyed look that almost seemed like a death glare, "What?" Shuichi questioned, his tone sounded completely irate and nearly sent chills up Kaito's spine, now wanting to reconsider, but persisted nonetheless.

Kaito smiled instead at being acknowledged at last, "I was thinking of taking you up as my sidekick and-"

"No." Shuichi coldly answered, turning his attention back to the file. Kokichi snickered, pleasurably entertained, and Kaito took notice of it, "Hey, just you wait until Shuichi finishes reading that file. _Then_ he'll listen to my offer!" He exclaimed, no longer feeling dejected. "Oh come ooon… He already said no. And besides, Shuichi would rather serve under me in my organization. Right, Shuichi?" Kokichi called out, and Shuichi only responded with a grunt. "See?" Kokichi said smugly.

Kaito opened his mouth to retaliate, but before he could even get any words out, Shuichi raised his head from the file, "Okay, I'm going out." He announced and Kaito asked why, completely ignoring the self proclaimed dictator, "I'm going to ask around for alibis, of course!" He said, both tone and demeanor completely polar opposite from earlier. "Well then I'm coming too!" Kokichi ran past Kaito, who chased after them as well.

...

"Wait...! Hah... wait for me..!" Kaito struggled to breathe, panting, as his legs threatened to give out. It was less 'asking for alibis and investigating' and more 'Shuichi and Kokichi run around the school excitedly while Kaito chases after them for an hour'. Seriously, it didn't even feel like they were investigating at all. Those two were just glancing around rooms and scenes and exchanging hushed words before running off to the next destination. And occasionally asking for alibis here and there, but that's besides the point!

Kaito could barely understand anything let alone catch up to those two's marathon. How the hell do they even have that much stamina? They don't even look tired at all! And Shuichi was completely different from their first training session where he could barely even handle fifty push-ups.

Kokichi noticed the absence of the astronaut's whining and turned around, "Shuichiiiii! Kaito fell agaaaain!" He yelled casually. He was just saying that out of pure instinct at this point, seeing as it was the third time that Kaito exhausted himself in pursuing the two boys despite some of the other students they were asking alibis from suggesting he should rest.

It would definitely not bother neither of them both in the slightest if there wasn't someone like Kaito constantly trailing behind them, but hey, at least it would prevent another idiot from being murdered during the investigation, right? Oh, who cares. Kokichi likes to investigate by himself, and having an idiot on board makes things much more difficult. At least Shuichi still somewhat had his head.

The other boy yelled back, "It's fine! He's probably tired! I just need to check one last thing!"

"Like hell you two're gonna go somewhere without me!" Kaito tried to stand up, but froze at the sound of a particular bell.

**_Ding dong bing bong_ **

"Tired already? Well too bad! It's only just begun! Our main event is about to start soon! Please gather at the shrine of judgement. Puhuhuhuhu… see you soon!"

...

By the time they arrived at the fountain, everyone was already there. "Yo! Why are you three ridiculously late? And why the hell does that virgin over there look like he just finished jacking off or something?" Miu nonchalantly asked, pointing at Kaito.

"Just as expected of these degenerate males to arrive late. They were probably ditching out on the investigation!" Tenko said.

Kiibo chipped in, "Uhm… actually, weren't they going around asking for alibis from people earlier? Including you?" And Tenko could only mutter something incomprehensible, twiddling with her index fingers.

Kaito, who was still panting a little, ignored the inappropriate comment, "Let's just get this over with already." He muttered.

And with that, the statue moved. The water stopped flowing, revealing a door which slid open like a mouth about to eat whatever goes inside. The group slowly, hesitantly, stepped in one by one, and the doors closed. It slowly began its descent, with each noise making Shuichi's anticipation clearer, until it finally stopped.

The door slides open to their next gamble to life and death, and Shuichi was all the more giddy to finally experience the highlight of a killing game.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **CLASS TRIAL CLASS TRIAL CLASS TRIAL-**
> 
> I love writing Miu's dialogues lol


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not dead I swear-
> 
> Okay, first of all, I'm very very VERY sorry for disappearing for uh... 2 months? Idk. Apparently excessive amounts of assessments and lack of motivation isn't a good combo lol. I still have some things to do, which unfortunately extends to christmas break, so I can't really guarantee when the next chapter gets released.
> 
> To anyone that's still following on this story, thank you very much guys. I really appreciate you all! Thanks for the comments and 1k hits!!

They were back. Again. To another trial. Another instance where they could see clear as day the promise they made to Kaede faltering after each life lost. Some wanted to run, not wanting to face the painful truth that there was a murderer among them, some wanted to just leave already, to not have to be forced to accuse each other of such a heinous crime, and some… wanted to see it all fall apart. To watch them all selfishly condemn their own kind to save themselves. It was such a beautiful sight to behold, that it could make one drool.

"Ahem! Now let's begin with a basic explanation of the class trial!" Monokuma asserted, "During the trial, you'll present your arguments for who the culprit is and vote for _'whodunni-"_

"Kirumi is the culprit."

The accused fell silent, completely struck with awe along with everyone else. Even the most loud-mouthed of the group were speechless at the sudden bold declaration of the detective. It took a second before everyone snapped their attention to the accuser.

"...What did you say?" Korekiyo asked. Shuichi, for once, looked baffled as if they were merely figuring out who broke a doorknob, "You seriously haven't found out? It was already so obvious from the abilis." He commented snarkily.

Kirumi's podium moves forward, and Kaito swore he could sense something inherently wrong with the supposed detective, 

"Now that you mention it… Kirumi has been very quiet recently." Maki observed. 

"That's damn quick!" Monotaro yelled.

"Too quick. Might even be the world record." Monosuke spoke.

"Nyahahaha! How swiftly it was done! God must have assisted Shuichi in finding the culprit!" Angie gave her usual preaching.

"Nyehh.. or maybe he used magic…" 

"Kirumi… is this true? Surely not. Shuichi, would you mind explaining how you have come to this conclusion?" Kiibo was skeptical, of course he was. Solving a murder by himself was something he pictured as extremely difficult, even for an Ultimate Detective, but he realized now that he shouldn't underestimate his accuaintance.

"Yeah, spit it out fuckface! I was already suspicious of this goth milf from the beginning, but I'm sure nobody would understand the advanced explanation this genius came up with." Miu yelled, vulgar as ever.

And so, Shuichi did. They had expected something short and brief, similar to the last trial, yet this one was grotesque, specific, and downright gruesome. Leaving comments here and there like "I wonder how she felt seeing Ryoma willingly allowing himself to be a victim. The thrill of holding the murder weapon over his head with the full intention to seek blood is just… oh! I'm getting off topic..."

It's easy to say that everyone was freaked out. Why wouldn't they be? The once shy and kind detective they once knew had turned into something completely different. Perhaps he had been deeply affected by Kaede's death? Or perhaps… this is who he truly is?

When all was said and done, the room fell silent once more. The explanation was spectacularly accurate to the alibis and timelines that no one had encountered a single flaw. Even if they did, it would have been immediately shot down with another explanation.

"Puhuhuhu… how impressive! I'm proud of you, Shuichi. But first, we're gonna have to confirm this theory of yours with a vote!" Monokuma's wicked chortles echoed loud and clear across the trial ground, almost silencing those who wished to object.

Almost. 

"That… that is incorrect!" Kirumi finally spoke out, "I could not have killed Ryoma, as I… I…"

"I…?" Kokichi followed teasingly.

It was obvious. Kirumi had no other rebuttals. She's been backed into the corner. She stood there, unable to face her "classmates" after her spectacular failure of a murder. 

"Kirumi…?" Gonta attempted to reach out.

"No… It is impossible… I refuse to let everyone perish! I could not have killed Ryoma, as a maid would not have left such a mess at the pool!" Kirumi raised her voice.

"Aaand, she's just straight up lying." Kokichi muttered loud enough for the people besides him to hear.

Kirumi screamed and yelled, telling them whatever reasons for not being the culprit came out of her mouth, but her sudden break out of character was enough evidence for them. In the end, there was one, final verdict.

**Guilty.**

"And that seals the deal! Congratulations, you brats have officially gotten the new world record!" One of the kubs announced, but Kaito didn't care who. Something was wrong. Something wasn't right. World record? Shuichi's sudden shift in personality? What the hell…

Shuichi looked like he was ready to explode, to jump up and down in joy, instead he threw his arms up in celebration, "Woohoo! That was great!"

Miu had something to say about this, "W-what the hell is up with Shuichi all of a sudden? Did one of you fuckers facefucked him too hard or some shit?!"

Tenko, too, couldn't stay silent for long, "As expected! Shuichi _is_ as much of a degenerate as all of you males!"

"You guys! Don't just give Shuichi all the attention, I helped too y'know?" Most of everyone stared at Kokichi in unison with an expression that clearly stated that they didn't believe him. "One more thing..." The attention was diverted back to Shuichi, "Kirumi, I like your style. Ryoma was already suicidal and willing to sacrifice himself yet you didn't even grant him a quick, painless death."

Each word felt like a stab to the heart for Kirumi as her guilt showed more and more evident. Were there any trace of regret? No, not really. And they would be able to find out why, soon.

Monokuma had showcased her motive video, detailing her position as prime minister, and after all the squabbles and "heartfelt last moments", the time has come,

"Iiiiiiiit's punishment time!" Monokuma and the cubs yelled concurrently.

...

The execution was… quite brutal. Everyone bore a truly horrified expression except, of course, Shuichi. Almost nobody could see his crazed look as he stood at the back. All but Kokichi. He warily made a mental note about the now "companion" he has beside him.

When it was all done, Kirumi's body lay on the cold cement looking floor, with a destroyed Monosuke underneath her, crushed under her weight. The air was melancholy, another lost life, a valuable one too according to her "motive". Shuichi simply glanced at Kokichi with an eerie smile that read "What do you think?". Kokichi could only shrug. There truly were some fucked up people in this world

…

The elevator ride back was drastically different from the previous one. They had noted Shuichi's odd behaviour and stayed away from him, creating a small circle of empty space around him. Except Kokichi, "wow… you guys are really cold staying away from the person who single-handedly exposed the culprit without any of your help. Rude." But his comment went ignored. 

Kokichi didn't go much further than that and Shuichi stayed silent, content with the events of the trial. Kokichi decided to save the spotlight for later when he had room to ~~escape~~ run.

Later became now and people poured out of the elevator. This was the perfect moment to strike. He opened his mouth, about to spill his knowledge about Maki's true talent, when Shuichi stole his thunder, "That execution was surprisingly really good."

"...what?" Kaito turned around, baffled, and Shuichi repeated his statement and clarified, "It certainly wasn't what I had expected. Kirumi's execution mostly centered around her position as Prime Minister and not her talent as a maid if we take it at face value. But I can appreciate the brutality.." The group was all stunned. Here they were, trying to survive, hell, trying to keep themselves as composed as they could after seeing the graphic death of their friend, and Shuichi was discussing it so casually like it had been some cheaply written television show.

"Why you..!" Kaito stormed to Shuichi and grabbed him by the collar with a single hand "What's wrong with you, man?! Kirumi might've killed Ryoma but she didn't deserve to die like that!" He spat.

Shuichi, despite being incredibly intimidated by the stares from everyone and Kaito's aggressive gesture, continued anyway. He didn't know what prompted him to, but he did, "Damn you're violent. You'll definitely end up killing someone if you keep acting like that." He continued, "Plus, this is just the beginning. It's not like you're all friends." He said with a sickening grin, "I wonder what kind of execution you'll have…"

Kaito clenched his hands into a fist and was about to punch the boy he had at some point considered a friend, if it wasn't for Monokuma's intervention,

"Woah woah woah! You children need to knock it off! Now," Monokuma turned his direction to Shuichi, "Glad to know someone here appreciates the efforts I put into these executions! Tell me more, Shuichi! Go and inflate my ego more!" The monotone bear encouraged.

Shuichi stared off in thought before answering, "Well it does remind me of the Spider's Thread folktale… hey Korekiyo, you're supposed to be an anthropologist, correct? Would you like to take the lead?" Shuichi offered, meanwhile Kokichi came in between Kaito and Shuichi, "I think you ought to let go of my _sidekick_ here." He shot a smirk at Kaito, being extremely petty with his words and tone. Kaito reluctantly released his grip.

Korekiyo was just as shocked as the others. He hadn't anticipated being in the spotlight, and being dragged into it made him slightly uncomfortable. Still, he didn't want to miss a chance at telling people a folktale, so he hesitantly obliged, "Well, to begin, a god named Shakyamuni was walking around heaven when he peeks into the depths of hell and spots Kandata. This man was a cruel criminal, but he managed to commit one good deed during his life, where he decided not to crush a spider when walking through the forest. Moved by this act, Shakyamuni decided to give him a second chance and lowers a spider thread from heaven down into hell. In hell, among all the dreariness and agony, Kandata notices the spider thread lowering down to him. He grabbed onto it and began his climb. Midway through his journey, Kandata laughs to himself and thinks that he will finally escape hell until he notices that some of the others have started to climb the thread as well. Worried that it might break, Kandata yells at the others to get off of it and that the thread belongs only to him. Right after saying that, the thread breaks and Kandata falls back into the depths of Hell."

Shuichi nodded, pleased to know that Korekiyo knew what it was, how could he not? Folktale or not, it was still a children's tale. "Kandata and Kirumi shared some similarities. And it wasn't just the execution. Kirumi had a good reason to murder, yet she was still selfish enough to sacrifice the lives of thirteen other teenagers that lead to her death."

Monokuma had begun to breathe heavily, a weird pink tint spread all over his face, "You… you understand completely…! Ahh is this what happiness feels like? Not even my own kubs could give me this sort of feeling…" He brought his paw up to reveal his claws, a slight glint in his red eye, "It makes me so happy that I could just _kill you_ …" but before he could even take a single step, the bear started to emit huge clouds of black smokes.

From who knows where, the Monokubs returned, quick to aid their father, "What did you guys do?!" Monotaro exclaimed.

"These brats…!" Monophanie muttered.

"..." Monodam only stared at his remaining siblings, "I-THINK-IT'S-FOR-THE-BEST." This, indubitably, sparked a massive argument between the trio, and everyone had taken the time to sneak off and leave to their dorms. 

All but Shuichi and Kokichi. They had some important matters to discuss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ngl, I spent most of the time just staring at the first two paragraphs in my free time before I finally overcame my writer's block. AnD iT oNlY tOoK tWo MoNtHs.
> 
> I'm not particularly good at writing class trials, so I'd be happy to hear feedback from y'all!


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one's much longer than the past chapters i've written and i'm honestly kind of proud?

After allowing the other boy in the room, Kokichi shut the door and locked it with an audible click. If he was alone right now he'd smack his head against the door, -Two more people died, he sulked internally- but alas he had to remain his facade even in the confines of his own room. "Whew! That was an interesting sight over there, don't you think?" Albeit a bit disappointed that the evening didn't go as he had planned, he would just have to make do with it. He'll save that information about Maki later.

Shuichi, after the whole ordeal, had kept his composure surprisingly well. It could have definitely been a lot worse than what happened in the trial and Kokichi half expected the supposed detective to run around the courtroom screaming in joy like a highschool girl the moment they announced his "world record" victory. Of course Kokichi was fully aware that he'd have more to say to someone who's supposedly in a similar position as him, and gaining insight from an… interesting perspective might prove to be somewhat beneficial.

"Aaah, I know right! I've gotten a world record in my first actual class trial! The last record was somewhere around seven minutes and twenty three seconds and……."

Kokichi fought the urge to tune him out, clinging to the fact that there should be at least something in there that could help him out with escaping this place. Eventually Shuichi's ramble had come to an end and Kokichi almost slapped his palm to his face. There was nothing important that he already didn't know or already confirmed prior to recent events embedded into his words. Only an overanalyzed blabber that could've convinced a normal person to think he was some sort of novel writer or f.b.i. agent.

Realizing that listening for clues wouldn't work, Kokichi had decided to finally be blunt, "So… any idea about who the mastermind could be?" He wished to have chosen better words as one wrong assumption could lead to his plans being thwarted. Hopefully his tone and expressions could make up for it. "Ooh, now that's an interesting one. Hey, maybe we can also get the world record for exposing the mastermind first!" Shuichi giggled. Kokichi reciprocated positively to the idea, before Shuichi followed up with a "But unfortunately, I don't think I can make any guesses yet. I haven't exactly gotten used to any of them even though your recap was greatly put together." Shuichi pouted. 

Kokichi immediately jumped to his feet, knowing exactly what could help. "Then get to your toes, shu-chi! And prepare for an extra in depth interview with the exclusive, one and only greatest supreme leader of evil!" He cleared through the messy room to retrieve a large whiteboard along with some colored markers that came from his desk drawers. 

Shuichi had fun while Kokichi felt eager, feeling like they could finally get somewhere and end this show for good.

….

_**Ding dong bing bong** _

As expected, the morning after the trial was somber and gloomy. It made Kokichi question why anyone had actually bothered coming to breakfast, but he guessed it had something to do with Monokuma. Though there _was_ one person missing and he knew it would make the atmosphere already worse than it was after he entered. 

Speaking of the devil, a familiar cap wearing boy emerged out of the doors. Everyone, for a split second, stared at Shuichi, but with a different undertone than last time. Shuichi was completely unbothered, and gave a small smile at Kokichi's direction. Time to add to his never ending mountain of lies. He set his feet down from the table and leaned forward, stretching an arm out and obnoxiously waving it around "Heyyy! Good morning mr. World record! Your back must hurt from carrying these idiots yesterday." He yelled as if he were to boast, even using his other hand to cup his mouth to make it louder before motioning to the seat beside him.

Everyone silently looked away, clearly aggravated, especially Kaito who didn't bother to keep his angry growl silent, before deciding to resume pestering the supposed child caretaker. That definitely wasn't a good idea at all, but who was he to judge? He couldn't care less if that dumbass dies because he couldn't keep to himself.

Shuichi happily strolled to the seat beside Kokichi. Last night, while they were trying to analyze each participant's behaviour, Shuichi felt the slightest bit frustrated. He realized now that he wasn't used to trying to dissect a character without the use of a protagonist's trustworthiness to gain information about each of them nor is there a phone for him to access some sort of wikipedia page about them. But with Kokichi's astute observational personality and skills, and both their sharp memories, it helped them greatly. 

Upon Shuichi taking a seat next to the other boy, Kokichi's mind had dwelled to a certain topic of interest (for him) from the previous night 

…

_"Man, I'm jealous of your energy, Shu." Kokichi sighed and overdramatically plopped on the floor, acting like it was the most comfortable space there. Physical activity speaking, they mostly just stood next to the whiteboard, each had a marker of their respective hair color, and Shuichi had attempted which characters were to die and which were to be possible culprits. It was mostly for fun, but Kokichi had taken in seriously. Though he'd never let it show._

_He tried to give his best to keep the lying to a minimum, and give only straight facts to the other, yet Shuichi's incredibly detailed questions felt like a true test to see the limits of how much he's observed his "peers"_

__"Ahahah.. sorry, I've just been really excited ever since i got here. I've been dreaming of participating in this for so long and it almost doesn't feel real. Well- no pun intended." Shuichi glanced back and Kokichi faked a chuckle._ _

_The air was silent for a while._

_"Anyways! Any guesses on who the mastermind could be?" He moved his position to sit in a criss cross, and stared at the side of Shuichi's back who had one hand on a marker that's tapping on his chin and the other sandwiched between his forearm and arm._

_All of a sudden, "....Kokichi… we're not ending this game early, right?" That shocked Kokichi to his core. Weren't they just talking about aiming for the 'expose the mastermind' world record too? "Hmm.. that's up to you. But I thought you wanted to expose the mastermind too?"_

_Shuichi pondered for a bit, "It's just… i just got here and I don't think I'd want it to end immediately." He froze, "You're not going against me, are you…?" He slowly turned his head, showing his expression of nervousness and… sinister anticipation? Kokichi himself had difficulty deciphering that look, but he calmly scrambled up his words, "no, no! Never ever forever, my friend! We're pretty much glued to the hip now! You're honestly one of the most interesting of all those peons… or are you saying you don't need me anymore? Is that it, huh? WAAHHH YOU'RE SO MEAN!"_

_The other boy jumped, and began apologizing profusely. Shuichi's sudden shifts in his behaviour and thinking reminded Kokichi of himself. Of how the others had perceived him as. For some reason, he couldn't help but laugh internally at how dumb it made him look._

_…_

Moments passed and the two had gotten into conversations about folktales and children's tales in general, talking about grimm's fairy tales and how grotesque and dark it originally was. Honestly, whoever gave companies the idea to make stories about cannibalism "for kids" definitely needed some level of help. 

They often got glares when they mentioned anything remotely similar to the spider's web, but it was left ignored. Gonta, Himiko and Korekiyo had been listening in on the conversation and were intrigued. Meanwhile Kaito looked like he wanted to puke. Everyone else either didn't want to get involved or were having conversations on their own, like Miu, Kiibo and Angie. It was until Tenko had slammed her fist on the table, making everyone jump, 

"Alright! I can't stand this kind of conversation from these degenerates anymore. I'm leaving." Tenko had gotten up from her chair, and turned to leave, only for the Monokubs to appear out of nowhere, the remaining three stacked on top of each other with Monophanie at the top and Monotaro at the bottom, blocking the door and successfully giving Tenko a jumpscare, at the cost of their kub tower toppling as Tenko had instinctively spin kicked Monodam square in the chest. Tenko wasn't apologetic at all. "What the hell was that for, you degenerates!" Tenko roared. Of the remaining three, Monophanie was the one who wasn't unconscious. Which was surprising for a mechanical bear. 

"We're sorry to disturb you, but we were just going to give you the next keys to unlock the remaining labs!" Monophanie sounded like she was trying to get by with guilt tripping, but it didn't work as everyone simply stared at them. 

"C'mon, Monophanie! Let's go before someone crushes us!" Monotaro had tried to escape, but Monodam was quick to grab his siblings' and keep them there. After a general explanation of the items, the two kubs ran immediately, only to bump into Monokuma himself at the door. 

"Nuh uh! Not yet, my cute little kubs! I've still got _something else_ to give to a certain someone over there!" He locked eyes with a certain cap wearing 'detective'. Before anyone could ask, Monokuma had appeared right in front of Shuichi, handing him a random brush, "As a reward for obtaining the current world record for a trial _(and feeding my ego to its fullest)_ , you get a special prize! Use it wisely. Or just get yourself thrown in jail without using your 'get out of jail free' card as a cheap tactic to win. You do you!" And with that, Monokuma and the Monokubs disappeared. 

Kokichi leaned closer to get a better look at the item that Monokuma had given. To him, it looked like another key to open a new room, but why would Monokuma give it to _him_ personally? Well, that could be easily explained as him getting special access to a room, but does that extend to others? He wondered if he'd be allowed access as well to whatever room it could unlock. 

_…_

The participants dispersed after distributing the keys to different groups to explore, particularly leaving out Kokichi and Shuichi as "They've already got their shit, why do we need to include _them_?" As told by a disgruntled Kaito, and agreed upon by everyone else. 

The remaining two watched as everyone rushed out of the dining hall in groups, and were astonished as to how they just left them behind like they aren't planning anything nefarious. Kokichi thought they would at least leave behind one poor soul (or maybe not, because Kiibo) to watch out for them, but that's a bit too much expectations from those people.

After a few minutes, Kokichi stood up, "You wanna see if anyone's actually made progress?" He asked, but Shuichi wasn't even able to get a word out before Kokichi had grabbed his wrist and dragged him out again. 

Surprisingly enough, they actually were able to get another floor to open up. It seemed that they'd uncovered the Ultimate Artist's lab and the Ultimate Anthropologist's lab. And as much as Shuichi marvelled at the great rooms, they were able to find themselves at a random crevice at the halls. It was near impossible to spot it and one could say it's like one of those boundaries to the underworld. Fortunately, it was only a room tucked away for some unknown reason. Shuichi stared at the brush and decided to test out if that was the correct door to use the key on, and he was right. The fragile paper looking door collapsed, revealing stairs to a completely new room opposite to that of the eerie hallway they were in.

The two boys let out a "Woah" sound, and looked like sparkles were materializing out of their heads. They glanced at each other, big grin on both faces, before Kokichi suddenly bolted up the stairs, "Bet'cha can't catch me!" And Shuichi followed the lead, "Ahah, wait for me..!" He tried to chase after the self proclaimed dictator, only for him to freeze at the sight of the new room. It looked absolutely stunning. Marble walls, pillars, large statues, tall ceiling and huge windows all lined up as if they were in some sort of church in heaven. Shuichi gaped and observed the room intently. That was when he noticed that there were two rooms. Maybe there were Ultimate labs in there?

They stood in front of the iron doors nearest to the stairs, and pushed it open. They stared in awe at the massive studio looking room. Stages, costumes, mannequins, it was quite obvious who this lab belonged to. The whole room felt like something they'd see in hollywood and Shuichi felt hyped about what his and Kokichi's room would look like. 

Kokichi felt eyes peering from almost every direction around him, but every glance he took, he saw nothing. Shuichi had distracted himself by wandering around the lab in adoration. Something felt off. Could it be that someone had found the hallway leading to this floor and came to search here? Or maybe someone had been following them? 

"Shuichi! I found some other doors outside! Wanna go check those too?" He called out, and Shuichi was snapped from his trance, "Yeah, if someone's lab looks like this in this specific floor, I can only imagine what other impressive labs are in this floor too." Shuichi headed out the door, not even waiting for Kokichi, and the other boy just set his hands behind his back and calmly followed suit.

They had stumbled upon Rantaro's room, only for monokuma to pop out saying it's locked and barred from visitation. Even those two were fully aware that monokuma's words were absolute, and any attempts at defiance were to end very badly, so they had just given up and left. There was one room left.

The dark wood door stood out of the marble walls, giving off the aura of something from a generic mystery movie from the 80's. Though there were still doubts, a single look at the interior confirmed whose lab this was for. And compared to the ultimate cosplayer's lab, this one was significantly smaller and more compact. Taking away the wide factory like ambiance and replacing it with a more compact, warm yet polemical atmosphere, as if it was truly something taken from a detective film. It should have felt underwhelming compared to the cosplayer's lab, but the finer details in this one completely made up for it. Shuichi stepped in and scanned the room, landing his gaze on the shelves with poison on it, and didn't even bother to supress a grin. 

"Woooah, you've got a sweet lab here, Shuichi. Of course, this is definitely going to be nothing compared to what my lab would be. I _am_ a supreme leader of evil. It's only natural for me to get the coolest looking l room!" Kokichi interjected, and silently wishing that Shuichi wouldn't do anything with those bottles.

Shuichi approached the poison, and Kokichi internally panicked, but didn't let his mask drop. "...I think i've figured it out."

"Figured what out? Oh, is this a confession?" Kokichi gave a faux grin.

"I know who the mastermind is."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm in kind of a hurry to post this(cuz rn my classes start in 12 minutes aa) so i'll be re-editing this later. Thank you for all the comments and kudos tho!! Same thing with all my readers, you guys are very appreciated <33

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading and have a nice day y'all!


End file.
